Natasha closed the bedroom door and locked it - locking it was unnecessary, but she wanted to be absolutely sure that no one would disturb them. She sent a bright smile at Steve. The poor guy looked a little nervous and she furrowed her brow. She walked over to him and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Is this your first time drawing someone in private?"

The tips of his ears flushed and he nodded his head. "Yeah. I've never done a full-body portrait before."

"Well, don't worry. You've got an incredible gift and I know it'll turn out great." She gave his shoulder a friendly squeeze and reluctantly stepped back. Looking around the room, she eyed a beautiful master bed with a canopy, a desk with a office chair, a chaise longue, an old fashioned wardrobe, a small ivory table and a nightstand.

"Where would you like me to be?"

Steve surveyed the objects for a moment, thinking. Then he looked at her again, mind made up. "I want you on the bed."

Natasha's eyes widened and her breath quickened. She knew he didn't mean he wanted her like that, but that didn't stop sexual mental images of the two of them in bed, exploring each others' bodies popping up in her head. She was already horny and his choice of words hadn't done anything but flare her desire.

Curiously, she watched his face to see if he realised what he'd said, but he didn't seem to acknowledge it. Either he was a good actor or his mind wasn't as dirty as hers. She hoped it was the former.

"Alright. Should I take my shoes off or leave them on?"

"Whatever makes you most comfortable."

After a brief deliberation, she decided to remove her shoes and set them under the nightstand. Per Steve's instruction, Natasha arranged her form so she was lying on her left side. She positioned her right hand on her hip and her right foot tucked behind her left leg. Her head was lying on the pillow and turned slightly in his direction, with her left hand under her cheek.

Steve picked up the office chair and moved it a few feet away from where she was stationed and sat down in it. As he drew, he made small talk with her, becoming more assured as his hands moved across the sketchpad. He held an air of confidence that she'd not witnessed before and she wondered if being alone with her and getting lost in his element was what made him so at ease. If those were the reasons, she was glad of it.

Since Natasha had to face him, she took note of his seated form. There was a concentrated expression on his face, a serious focus of his blue eyes as he drew. It was intense, as if he were seeing inside of her body and deep into her soul. It was very intimate and she believed that this must have been what it was like for a muse to be rendered by an inspired artist.

She watched him as he did his work and more than once, his eyes locked with hers, lowering down to her lips before he set his attention back to his drawing. Natasha couldn't stop the grin that spread on her face.

Before she could think twice about it, she said, "Have you ever drawn a woman topless, Steve?"

He coughed and lowered his sketchpad to look at her, eyes widened slightly in shock. She kept her expression neutral, so she'd give off the impression that her question was an innocent one.

Steve's hand went behind his neck and he rubbed it. "No. I've never been bold enough to do something like that."

"Well, if you ever decide to, I'm open to it."

The tips of his ears turned pink and he continued with his work. "I'll...keep that in mind."

"Please do."

Steve's hand shook momentarily, but he cleared his throat and got ahold of himself. In what Natasha suspected was a ploy to distract him from inappropriate thoughts, he started to talk about the first caricature he drew of Bucky.

Natasha tried her best to stay awake and murmur a little reply to his story every now and then, but she was very comfortable where she was resting. Since the sound of the music and people downstairs could barely be overheard, Natasha had no barriers between herself and resting. Her eyelids grew heavy and after some time, she fell asleep.

In her dream, she was dressed in a white dress, walking on a beach with a man by her side. She couldn't see his face, but he had his arm around her waist in a way that could only be described and intimate and romantic. He had a specific smell about him, too. Old Spice and charcoal, which was exactly how Steve smelled. It was an unusual combination, but by no means unpleasant.

They stopped walking and faced each other. Natasha let him pull her into his embrace and they began to kiss passionately. Grasping fingers began to roam each other's body and he started to pull down the straps of her dress.

"Natasha? Natasha, wake up."

The redhead felt warm hands shake her and a familiar voice called her out of the lovely dream sleep into wakefulness. She moaned as the picture of the of the waves crashing and Steve's amorous gaze melted away. The next thing she knew, she was yawning and opening her eyes. Steve sat on the bed next to her and his lips were curved up in a small smile.

"Rise and shine, sleepyhead."

"Oh. I'm sorry, Steve. I can't believe I fell asleep."

He waved his hand. "It's alright. I had just finished the drawing anyway. Would you like to see it?"

"Yes!" Natasha got off the bed and walked over to the chair where Steve's sketchpad was set. When she picked the pad up, she gasped in surprise. He'd drawn her beautifully. The sketch was just in pencil, but the detail was amazing.

From the texture of her clothes, to the slight curl of her lips, he'd rendered her form remarkably well. And it wasn't even colored! The Natasha noticed the intensity of her gaze in the picture and felt a small blush coming on - had she really been eyeing him like that?

"What do you think?" Steve looked at her curiously.

Natasha blinked, remembering that she'd been standing in place for too long without speaking. "It's amazing. I've seen some of your drawings before, but this is even better. I think my favorite part is my bun. You captured every lock perfectly and I think this makes me looks nicer than when I checked in the bathroom mirror before I left home."

"Wow. Thank you. I knew you'd like it, but I wasn't expecting that kind of reaction. I appreciate you allowing me to draw you like this, Natasha." The expression of joy mixed with slight sheepishness on Steve's face was adorable and she found herself smiling wider.

"I meant every word. You have a wonderful gift, Steve, and I'm pleased you wanted to share it with me." She leaned in his direction and placed a brief kiss on his cheek.

Those blue eyes of his widened and the pulse in his neck started to throb. "W-why did you do that?"

"Because I wanted to. Did you...not like it?" Natasha came closer to him, a tiny smirk on her lips.

A look of surprise and then, determination appeared on his face and he shook his head. "No, I did. In fact, I wouldn't object if you did it again."

She kissed his cheek and drew back to observe his reaction. There was a frown on his face and she chuckled. "Well, you didn't say where I should kiss you. Vocalize it, Steve. Tell me what you want." The last three words came out in a whisper and she wet her lips.

His pupils dilated at the movement and he moved closer until their torsos touched. He raised his hands to touch both sides of her face in a gentle caress. Natasha felt her heart pounding in her ears as she reached out to grasp the side of his shirt. He brought their foreheads together, smoothing her skin with his thumb.

Quietly, he murmured, "I want you..."

"You want me to what?"

Steve sighed and she felt his eyelids flutter against her own. "I want you to be my girl."

Her heart skipped a beat. "I'd like that."

"I'm glad we can agree about it."

They both chuckled at Steve's quip and after several moments, they pulled back to look into each other's eyes. Natasha leaned forward just as he bent down and their lips met in a soft smooch. It didn't last too long because neither of them wanted to make out in a guest room at their friend's house.

When they pulled apart, the sound of something hitting the floor caught their attention. It was Steve's sketchpad. It had gotten smushed between them when they kissed, but as he picked it up, he found that her beautiful drawing was not marred.

Natasha whistled. "That was close. I would've hated it if the drawing had gotten damaged."

Steve closed the pad and smiled. "Me too. You know, I'll need you to model for me again soon so I can add color to it."

"Really? I guess this makes me your muse?" She slipped her feet into her sandals and went to the bathroom to grab her top.

"Well...you've been my muse ever since you let me make doodles of you when you were tutoring me. But you know it now, so I guess that makes it more official."

"And us. It also makes us official, too."

"I like the sound of that, us," he replied.

"Same here."

They left the guest room together and made their way downstairs to say goodnight and goodbye to Thor. He had a big grin of approval on his face and he gave them both a bear hug as well as a happy farewell.

Steve texted Bucky, telling him that Natasha would take him home and that they were leaving the party. As lively as it was, they wanted some alone time to bond and there was a nice little 24-hour diner nearby that would do the trick.